Throwback to 2011 - Berkeley, CA

In the summer of 2011, I went to Berkeley, CA for a week to learn a system for teaching math called "Making Math Real." I took one day to myself and rented a bike so I could ride around Berkeley and San Francisco to see what I could see. This from my journal. Pictures that follow are from the ride.

Funny how a city transforms itself from forbidding, dark, and unfamiliar to welcoming, vibrant, and inspiring in a matter of a few days. I went from eating fish curry with no rice and no spoon alone in my room to eating fresh local kale, drinking pinot, and reading my book at a sidewalk table at Venus, a "green" restaurant in town. A person should never visit a place for just a day because it takes time to acclimate, and you can't really see things until after you've done that. 

Tonight, I finally found my way. I lined up a bike for the morrow, figured out the bus and successfully rode it to where I wanted to go, listened to my music, read my book -- relaxed. 

It's hard to switch gears between the intensity of the daily math lessons and the peculiar interests of Berkeley. What a different vibe here! It brings out the conservatism of D.C. in glaring relief. People here are unvarnished--categorically. I don't know if I've noted any make-up. There are adornments: tattoos, piercings, jewelry of the non-precious ilk. I don't know why these things seem different to me--perhaps they're not. It just strikes me that these decorations highlight the body rather than cover it up. But I suspect I'm wrong. Just different fashions pointing to different ideologies and values. No? But perhaps that's exactly what I like about it. 

Tonight I ate dinner just outside campus at a restaurant that serves local food. I sat by the window--open with no screen, ate my lovely gazpacho, kale, and calamari. A perfect end to a busy day. Then I got a coffee to go and drank it on the bus ride back to the hotel. 

The next morning, I picked up my bike at 9am and headed out around Berkeley. I rode through the neighborhoods and the town, then found my way to the campus. All very quaint. Not splashy at all. I lugged my nice camera with me, so for every pic, I had to dismount and dig it out of my pannier. 

Clock tower on the Berkeley campus

In 2011, bike lanes had yet to make an appearance in DC, so the bike boulevard was a novelty to me. Feeling welcomed on the streets was a nice change.

Too bad it was too early for lunch. This cool roadside eatery was blasting music and looking wonderful. But I'd just eaten and had planned lunch in San Fran.

Below is the Berkeley World Wall of Peace. It's located in a park and was constructed out of 5,000 hand-painted tiles in 1988. I loved it. Couldn't fit the whole thing in my lens and still see the art, so had to pick and choose sections. I do wish I'd snapped a pic from afar to see what the wall looked like in the big picture.

After I'd satisfied myself riding around Berkeley, I hopped on the Bart, which is their underground, and headed over to San Francisco. From the financial district, I rode along the water on a fat beautiful bike trail.

Alcatraz

The city.

The skyline

With time the fog burned off and it turned into a nice day.

When I arrived at the very touristy waterfront, I stopped to get some lunch. Why not? I was a tourist after all. I found a little wall to sit on looking out over the water with my bike and ate my fish and chips. It was so windy, a gust took my paper basket of food and scattered it all over the sidewalk. No worries though. When you're hungry, you just gather it back up and eat it as if nothing happened.

Here is my view from the bridge looking back at San Fran and the path I'd ridden. If I remember right, Brian Johnson said folks from NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) work in that house.

When I got to the Golden Gate, things weren't looking golden, but I thought it looked cool anyway. It's interesting to see no selfies in 2011! Of course I took a million pics, as if I've never seen a bridge before!

San Francisco began to disappear into the fog while I was on the bridge.

I rode over the bridge and continued on for a bit towards Sausalito, then turned and headed back. I ended up clocking quite a few miles - about 35. So as I was passing these neighborhood streets, I was happy to stick to my coastline trail!

Yeah, I'd live there!

I hopped back on the BART - in rush hour, so I'm not sure how much my bike was appreciated - and headed back to Berkeley where I collapsed on my bed for the night!